


Despondent

by Iniysa



Category: In a Heartbeat
Genre: EMS, F/M, Fire, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-09-03
Updated: 2002-09-03
Packaged: 2017-11-26 19:17:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/653554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iniysa/pseuds/Iniysa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jamie and Catie go on a camping trip, but when a forest fire stats, the two best friend find themselves in major trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: I don't no much in the medical field so all mistakes are mine. :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own them! I am not getting paid for this fic.

DESPONDENT  
By: Lauren Freeman

"That's it! I have to get out of here! Catie!" Jamie yelled as he slammed his locker shut, causing everyone around him to stop and look. Catie, hearing her name called ran over to see who it was. When she got there, Jamie was leaning against his locker, with his eyes closed.

"Jamie? You okay?" Catie asked cautiously.

"Let's go camping." Jamie declared.

"Umm… okay, when?" 

"Today, after school, it's Friday right?"

"Well yeah, duh, why do you want to suddenly go camping? We haven't been camping together in almost a year!" Catie asked, thinking of how they used to go camping together all the time.

"I need to get away, Alex seems to think I stole some supplies from the supply room, and suspended me! I got yelled at by all my teachers, cause my school work is not completely up to par, And my parents told me yesterday that they; "just don't love each other anymore," and are getting a divorce! I HAVE to get away, with or with out you."

"Oh, I am with! I need to get away too! My parents are at the point where they are starting to date other people. My dads' girlfriend hates me, and anytime my dad is not around, she is yelling at me for "being a bad seed."

Then there's my moms boyfriend! Who just wants to love me to death. He is always so happy, and is always smiling; sometimes I just want to slap that smile off his face! Come on man, no human can be happy ALL the time!" 

"Okay, so we are going camping, lets stay until Sunday night. Remember to pack extra clothes! Remember that time we were caught in that rainstorm, and we did not have any extra clothes? We were miserable and ended up going home soaking wet and with bad colds!" Jamie said smiling for the first time in weeks. 

"Yeah, and the time when we were fishing and we slipped, ran into each other and both fell in to the water?" Catie added, laughing also.

"Yeah, that was so funny! Okay, I will pick you up on my motorcycle, today at 3. 

"Okay! See you then." Catie said as she started to her next class. Jamie smiled and slowly walked across the hall for his study period. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

JAMIE'S HOUSE  
2:30PM - Friday

"Mom, Catie and I are going camping for the weekend." Jamie yelled down the stairs as he packed.

"Oh okay, honey! That sounds like a good idea, you need the break. When are you leaving?"

"Fifteen minutes, I am picking Catie up."

"Okay, honey, tell me before you leave!" 

"Yes, mame!" Jamie yelled, as he added the last bit to his large pack. He put the large pack on his back and ran down the stairs to grab some food for the weekend. Before he knew it he was saying bye to his mom and heading for Catie's house.

\--------------------------------------------------------

CATIE'S HOUSE  
2:30PM - Friday

"Hey, I'm home!" Catie yelled as she walked into the door. Her mom's boyfriend Bob came out to meet her with a grin. 

"Hey there Catie how was your day?" Bob asked with a big smile on his face.

"Fine, do you know where my mom is?"

"In the kitchen." 

"Thanks." Catie stated, and walked past Bob towards the kitchen, Bob fallowed her.

"Mom, Jamie and I need a break, and are going camping for the weekend, is that all right?"

"Of course honey! You haven't done that is such a long time! You need the break! Have fun!" 

"Thanks mom." Catie smiled, and was about to head for her room to pack when Bob stopped her.

"Jamie, as in your best friend Jamie? Jamie, the boy?" Bob asked.

"Who else? He is the only Jamie I talk about!"

"Now Susan, do you think this is a good idea?"

"I am not worried about them! Go have fun honey!" Catie's mom said. Catie ran to her room, and as she was packing, she could hear her mom and Bob arguing. She always brought drinks, and not wanting to go into the kitchen, she grabbed some money and headed out. As she stepped out of the door, Jamie pulled up in his motorcycle.

"Hey Jamie! Mom and Bob are arguing, and I did not want to interrupt, so lets go to the store and get some drinks, okay?" Catie asked.

"Sure, no problem!" Jamie stated as he helped Catie put on her helmet and get on the bike.

\----------------------------------------------

20-MILES IN TO THE WOODS  
7:00PM - Friday

Jamie and Catie hopped off the bike and started to unpack there tents and supplies. 

"Boy we picked a heck of a time to go camping, Jamie. Right in the middle of a drought! It hasn't rained in 6 weeks, and it is incredibly hot. We can't even build a camp fire with all this dry wood."

"If it's so hot, do you really WANT to start a campfire?"

"Well, no...but that's NOT the point!"

"Don't complain Catie, we are here to enjoy ourselves."

"Your right. So lets go fishing!" Catie said, jumping up and down. 

"Um Catie, in case you haven't noticed, it's getting dark out here really fast and we haven't even gotten are tents put up yet."

"Oh alright, but we fish first thing tomorrow!"

"Sure, Catie." Jamie said with a grin.

\-----------------------------------------------  
EMS OFFICE  
8:00PM - Friday

"Alex! We found the missing supplies! One of the new EMT's did not know where to put them, so he put them in a closet!" Val Liner said as she skipped in to Alex's office. "That means Jamie didn't do it!" 

"That's good to hear, Val!" Alex said with a smile. Val smiled back and left the office. Alex's smile faded, he had done it again. Falsely accused Jamie for stilling. Guess it's time to apologies. He picked up the phone and dialed Jamie's number, Jamie's crying mom picked up the phone.

"He-hello?"

"Hello, Mrs. Waite? This is Alex, from the EMS station, is Jamie there?"

"No, he-he has been having a REAL rough time lately, so he and his friend Catie went camping. They should be in their usual spot by now, it's only 20 miles in to the woods."

"Oh, okay thank you Mrs. Waite."

"Oh your welcome, you know he speaks very highly of you."

"No I did not, thank you for telling me that." Alex said, shocked. They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. Before he could really think about what Mrs. Waite told him, he got another call.

"Kingsport EMS, This is Alex, how may I help you?" Alex said into the phone.

"Yes, Alex, this is Kingsport Fire and Rescue, we have just got word that a forest fire has broken loose about 100 miles away from are forest line. So far, we have reported 20 people out there camping, and as word spreads we expect to get more cases. Please go on standby, for mass casualties."

"Will do, Fire and Rescue. One question, do you have the names Jamie Waite and Catie Roth on your list?"

"No, not yet, should I?"

"Yes, Jamie is one of my EMT's and Catie is his best friend, they are said to be camping around 20 miles from the forest line."

"We now have them on our list. This is Fire and Rescue, over and out."

"EMS, Over and Out." Alex said and hung up the phone. 'Oh no, this cannot be happening.' Alex thought, as he got up and slowly walked out to put all squads on standby. "Hank! Come here for a second." Alex yelled from just outside his room. Hank came running to him.

"Yes sir?"

"Hank, a forest fire has started about 100 miles out, there are a lot of people camping out there and I need you to put all units on stand by."

A serious look crossed Hanks face. "Yes sir!"

"Hank there's one other thing that you might want to warn everyone about in case we have to pick them up."

"Pick who up?"

"Jamie, he and Catie are out there also."

"Oh...oh no...has anyone tried to get a hold of them?" Hank asked. 

"Not yet...I just found out myself."

"Okay, I will let everyone else know." Hank said quietly, still in shock. 

"Thank you Hank."

"No problem chief." Hank said as he walked back to the main room. "Okay everyone, a forest fire has broken loose about a 100 miles out. People are camping out there, and we are now under alert. We need to get all teams on standby now. Tyler call units 1 through 4, Val, units 5 through 8, and I will get units 9 through 12. Let's let them know, you guys, then when that's over we are having a meeting, meet back here when your done. Let's go!" Hank said as he went to the nearest phone, and started calling. The rest of his team went off to different phones. 

\-------------------------------------------------

WOODS  
8:00PM - Friday

Jamie and Catie are laying on their sleeping bags outside, watching the stars.

"Jamie, what's your favorite constellation?" Catie asked.

"Orion."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure, I think cause it's easiest to find, just look for the three stars next to each other." 

"Yeah, speaking of which, where is Orion?" Catie asked.

"I don't know, it was there a minute ago, wait a second, is that a cloud?"

"What? Cloud? Yes! It's a black cloud! It's going to rain, Yesss!" Catie yelled, jumping to her feet. "We better get inside are tents before it starts to rain!" 

"Wait, what's that smell?" Jamie asked, suddenly very serious.

"What smell...wait, it smells like..."

"Smoke!" They both yelled at the same time. 

"Oh man, there must be a forest fire!" Jamie yelled.

"We have got to get out of here!" Catie added on.

"Agreed. Lets hurry and pack." Jamie said. They both got to work getting everything together. 

"Okay, all done, let's get out of here!" Catie's said. They jumped on to the motorcycle, and Jamie revved it up. They took off, but did not get very far. About a mile off the motorcycle sputtered and died.

"Jamie, what's going on? Why did you stop?"

"Oh no."

"What?"

"Umm, we ran out of gas." 

"WHAT?!?"

"GAS! NO GAS!!!" Jamie yelled.

"Great, what do we do now?"

"Well, I think PE class is about to come in handy, we have to run."

"No! I skipped PE! I hate running, plus how are we supposed to run with all of this on are backs?!?" Catie asked.

"We don't, we take only what we need! Food, water, and are first aid kits, who knows what we are going to run into." Jamie stated.

"Okay, let's just get this over with, I suddenly just want to go home."

"I totally agree, let's go home." Jamie concurred. They emptied out there bags and started to run.

\--------------------------------------

EMS STATION  
8:30PM - Friday

Val, Hank and Tyler all sat in the main room, ready for the meeting. 

"Okay, as you know, a forest fire has erupted around 100 miles from the edge of the woods. You also know that there are people camping, what you don't know is that Jamie and Catie, are among those."

"What!" Val yelled. "BOTH Catie and Jamie are out there in those woods."

"Yes, I am telling you to prepare you, they are 20 miles out. Now there are rescue teams flying out, trying to find as many people as possible, before the fire reaches their area."

"Do they know exactly where Jamie and Catie are?" Tyler asked.

"No, they don't." 

"Okay, lets do what we can to help out!" Val said with a tiny bit of made up confidence.

\------------------------------------

JAMIE'S HOUSE  
9:00PM - Friday

Loud bangs on the door, woke Mrs. Waite from her sleep. She slowly got up, put on her robe and went to the door, where she found her soon to be divorced husband.

"Anna, the forest is on fire, they say it is coming straight for us, we need to pack up and leave, where's Jamie?"

"The...the forest...on fire?"

"Yes, we have to go, where's Jamie?"

"In the forest, how far is the fire?"

"90 miles from the edge of the forest, wait, did you just say Jamie is in the forest?!? What's he doing in the forest? The forest is on fire!"

"Well he did not know that when he went in! He and Catie went camping, Jamie was so upset about our divorce, and I thought it was a good idea for them to get away. Oh this is my fault."

"No, I would have done the same thing, do you know where they went?"

"Umm there favorite spot, 20 miles in to the forest."

"Okay, they have rescue teams going out, lets get down there to let them know."

"Okay, let me grab the cell phone so I can call the Roth's." She grabbed her cell, and keys, and then ran out the door.

\-----------------------------------

CATIE'S HOUSE  
9:00PM - Friday

"Mom! Turn on the TV! Channel 10, hurry!" Adam, Catie's 10-year-older brother, called as he ran into the house, Mrs. Roth quickly turned on the TV and was shocked to see a huge fire burning in a forest. 

"What forest is that?" Mrs. Roth asked.

"Mom, it's ours! Isn't Catie out there?"

"Oh...oh...no...yes...Catie's out there."

"Where is the fire right now?

"It's now 90 miles away, mom, how far out would Catie and Jamie be?"

"20 miles. Their spot is 20 miles away."

"Ok, they have rescue team evacuating people now." 

"I need to call Mrs. Waite!" She said, but before she could get to the phone, it started to ring.  
"Hello?" She said with a shaking voice. 

"Susan? Have you heard?"

"Yes...Oh I am so worried! I need to do something!"

"We are on are way to the rescue center, why don't you come meet us here." 

"Okay, I am on my way." Mrs. Roth stated and hung up the phone. She then grabbed her jacket but before she could get out the door, Bob came down the hall.

"Susan? Where are you going? What's all the commotion?" Bob asked. 

"Get dressed fast, I will explain on the way." Mrs. Roth said shaking.

"Okay. Bob said a worried look crossing his face. He quickly got dressed and they stepped out the door. "Wow, what time is it? The sun is rising already?"

"It's 9PM, the sun isn't rising."

"Then what....oh...OH! Catie!"

"Yeah, we are headed to the rescue camp."

\-------------------------------------------

15 MILES FROM THE EDGE OF THE FORREST  
12:30AM - Saturday

Jamie and Catie are now walking, out of breath.

"Jamie, we need to stop, I need to rest for a couple of minutes."

"Yeah, so do I. Man, the smoke is getting thick."

"Uh-huh, and it looks like the sun is rising, that has got to be some forest fire!" Jamie whispered, trying to breath normally.

"Yeah, do you think there is anyone looking for us?" Catie asked, worried.

"No doubt. Its a matter of seeing us, Gees, the fire must be coming fast, I doubt we will be able to get out of here before the fire gets here, I think are best bet it to find a clearing and hope someone finds us before the fire does."

"Are you sure? I mean the smoke is getting really bad, it's only going to get worst!"

"Which means it's going to get harder to breath, and a lot harder to walk, let alone run, real soon. 

"Okay, let's hurry and find a clearing."

\----------------------------------------

RESCUE STATION  
12:30 AM - Saturday

The Roth family, the Wait's, and the entire EMS teams except two are at the Rescue Station. Mrs. Roth and Mrs. Waite are standing with Val, Tyler and Hank. So far, they had rescued 30 people, but no Jamie or Catie.

"How far in is the fire?" Mrs. Waite asked a fireman passing by.

"50 miles, mam. We have managed to slow it down considerably, and the fire is now half the size it started off to be, but the chances of us getting it to stop completely, before it gets here, is very slim." The fireman said and walked to his destination. 

 

"Oh! This cannot be happening!" Mrs. Waite yelled.

"Mrs. Waite, please calm down, I am sure they will be just fine. Just please, you have to stay calm, you are no help when you are hysterical." Val said in the most decent voice she could muster. However, truth be known, she was ready to burst into tears. Alex had to stay at the office to direct things. Helicopters were flying everywhere still looking for the 4 last people who were confirmed to still be in there. In addition to the, who knows how many who did not tell anyone they were going camping. So far no one had come back with any major injuries, there worst case was a girl who was have a asthma attack, and her medicine would not work due to all the smoke. She almost stopped breathing all together, but they managed to get to her in time.

\----------------------------------

EMS OFFICE  
1:30AM - Saturday

Alex sat in his office with his head on his desk, 'this is all my fault, if I had listened to Jamie and did a little looking of my own, I would not have had to suspend Jamie, and he would not be in this mess in the first place!' Alex thought, but before he could think anymore his phone rang.

\----------------------------------

14 MILES INTO THE WOODS  
2:00AM - Saturday

Jamie and Catie had finally found a large clearing. They were now on there hands and knees cuddled up together with there shirts over there mouths and noses. The smoke was so bad that they could barely see each other. Both were coughing alot, and nether one was talking. To reassure each other that they were still alive they would squeeze each other's hands. The fire was getting closer they could feel it.

\---------------------------------

RESCUE STATION  
4:00AM - Saturday

"The fire is 23 miles away, going 7 miles per hour. In only an hour the fire will be only 16 miles away. We have already evacuated all the towns near and around the area, now we need you all to please get in the bus, you need to leave also." A fireman said to the two families waiting for there children to be found. The other two people had been found an hour before. 

"No, please, our kids are still out there!" Mrs. Roth cried.

"Please, we have to find our babies!" Mrs. Waite added in.

"I'm sorry, the only people who will be aloud to stay is the firemen and one adult EMT squad. We will keep looking for your kids, for as long as possible, now please head to the bus, you will be notified the minute they are found, we promise." With that the fireman scooted them on to the bus, and it slowly drove away. Val, Tyler and Hank got into there ambulance and started to follow them. Tears now slid freely down Val's light cheeks, as the rescue station slowly disappeared out of sight. 

\--------------------------------

14 MILES INTO THE FOREST  
5:00AM - Saturday

Jamie and Catie are now just lying there, constantly squeezing each others hands. With every minute that passes their squeeze got weaker. They can barley breath, there lips a light blue, when they look up they can see the fire in the distance. They have all but given up.

"Ja… Jamie...sleep." Catie whispered

"No...don don't sleep...won't…wa… wake up." Jamie whispered back.

"I...don't think we are go going to to be re...rescued." Tears slid down her face.

"Do don't think like..." Before he could finish his sentence, a noise caught his attention.

"Jamie, you there? "

"Yeah...listen...."

"What...I don't , wait...sounds like a copter."

"Yeah, we...have have...to get...attention."

"Okay, wave hands. "

"Kay." They both started to wave there hands, not knowing if the helicopter was even there above them. Within minutes, they could fill a fresh breeze coming from above. Two men jumped out of the helicopter, along with a long basket. Seeing that they were going to be rescued, they both fell into a restless sleep.

\---------------------------------------

HIGH SCHOOL CLASS ROOM - TOWNSTAND  
5:30AM - Saturday

... 

The Wait's, The Roth's, and all the EMS teams including Alex, who were all cramped in a school room located in Timestand, a town extremely far from Kingsport, everyone looked up at the ringing phone. Mrs. Waite slowly got up and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Yes, this is Kingsport Fire and Rescue, just wanted to let you know, that Jamie Waite and Catie Roth, have been found, and are currently being transported via helicopter to Timestand General Hospital."

"Do you know how they are?" Mrs. Waite asked, everyone in the room relaxed then stiffened again.

"There current condition is unknown. They should be arriving at the hospital within the hour."

"Okay, thank you sir."

"Your welcome mam." They both hung up.

"Well, they found them. How are they?" Mrs. Roth asked.

"Yes, they found them, but the man I talked to said their condition in unknown."

"What hospital are they taking them to? Are they being taken by ambulance or helicopter?" Tyler asked.

"They are being taken to Timestand General, helicopter." Mrs. Waite told the group. Worried looks crossed the EMT's faces.

"What? What's wrong?" Mrs. Roth asked.

"It's just, helicopter means that they needed to get to the hospital faster."

"Oh." Mrs. Roth and Mrs. Waite said at the same time. 

"Okay, lets head over to the hospital." Alex said as he got up. The rest followed, and they soon found themselves in a ER waiting room.


	2. Chapter Two

\---------------------------------  
9TH FLOOR WAITING ROOM  
6:30AM - Saturday

Mrs. Waite, Mr. Waite, Alex, Tyler and Hank were all sitting in the waiting room waiting for Jamie to be brought up from the ER. They all came up with Catie, and now Val and Catie's family was in with Catie. Just then the elevator door opened. The sight of Jamie was frightening. The doctor had not come and told them how Jamie was yet, and they were totally unprepared to see him in intubated, and with so many monitors beeping away. Everyone jumped and ran to Jamie's side. Mrs. Waite started to cry and grabbed Jamie's left hand.

"Okay you guys, we need to take him to his room. We will come out and let you know when we have him settled." The man transporting Jamie said to all of his visitors. 

\---------------------------------------

ROOM 917 TOWNSTAND GENERAL HOSPITAL  
6:35AM - Saturday

Her mom, Bob and Val, surrounded Catie; they were about to start a new conversation when they started to wheel Jamie in to the room. Equipment surrounded Jamie, and a nurse had a bag on a tube going into Jamie's throat, she was squeezing air into Jamie's lungs. Numerous beeps were going off signaling Jamie as still alive. Every one started to hold their breath. They started plugging in the machines and putting them in various places around his bed. 

"Oh Jamie, I am so sorry!" Mrs. Roth said brushing Jamie's head with her hand. Val come up on the other side of him, she started to look at all the equipment surrounding Jamie, She read his vitals, making sure for her self that Jamie was all right.

\---------------------------------------  
ROOM 230 KINGSPORT GENERAL HOSPITAL  
3:00PM - Tuesday

The all clear came through to go back to Kingsport Monday, and they transported Jamie to Kingsport Hospital. They released Catie that Sunday after a night of observation. Jamie had been taken off the ventilator the night before, and was resting in his now private room, Catie and Val walked in.

"Hey!" Catie said with a smile. 

Jamie just smiled and nodded; hit throat hurt to bad to talk. Catie handed Jamie a cup of ice chips.

"I want you to suck on these, slowly." Val stated in a serious tone but with a smile on her face. Jamie just smiled and started sucking on an ice chip. A look of relief flowed over his face. When he finished his first ice chip, he sighed. Just then, Alex walked in. 

"Hey! You are looking better! How are you feeling?" Alex asked.

"K..ay" Jamie whispered.

"Your throat is going to hurt for a bit, but I promise despite popular beliefs, it will start to feel better." Alex told him with a smile.

"When can I go home?" Jamie asked quietly.

"Well they are going to keep you in the hospital for another day or two for observation, but it won't be long now!"

"Cool." Jamie whispered with a smile.

"Catie, how are you feeling?" Jamie asked, a look of concern crossing his face.

"The doctor told me that my throat would be sore for a couple of weeks and I would be Coughing a lot." Catie told Jamie with a smile. 

"What I don't understand, is how come Jamie is so bad and you are barley sick." Val asked. 

"When the smoke was starting to get really bad and Catie's shirt was really thin, so I took mine off and covered her mouth with it. Even though I had half of it, I some how blacked out for a few minutes and when I woke up again my mouth wasn't covered by the t-shirt anymore." Jamie told Val.

"Yeah when he stopped squeezing my hand for a couple of minutes I started to panic, but I could barley breathe, let alone try and cover Jamie's mouth. I feel so terrible about that." Catie stated.

"No, Catie DO NOT blame yourself! This is NOT your fault!" Jamie said a little louder then a whisper.

"I am just glad you are both alright. Jamie, I never got to tell you, but the missing supplies were found, you're off the hook. I am very sorry I blamed you." Alex said. 

"Don't worry to much about it, Alex. I am getting used to it." Jamie said, kidding about the last part.

"But you shouldn't have to get used to it!" Alex said a little loud.

"Alex, I was kidding, don't stress it, I mean it!" Jamie said straining his voice.

"Okay Jamie, you feel better." Alex stated. "I have to get to work, I will be back tomorrow." With that Alex left.

"Umm, Val, can you talk to him? I don't think I have the strength to deal with this right now." Jamie asked a look of true exhaustion crossing his face. Val smiled.

"Sure Jamie, I will get it all set out, I promise!" Val said. "Oh, I have to go, I have work too! In fact, Alex is supposed to drive me. I have to run! Bye Jamie, see you tomorrow!" Val said as she ran out of the room. 

"Alone at last." Catie said sitting in the chair beside Jamie's bed. Jamie smiled. 

"Yes, alone at last." 

"I want to thank you for what you did for me back at the fire."

"I would do it again, if I had to, in a heartbeat." Jamie told Catie. 

"I hope you won't ever have to again! That was just horrible!" Catie said in almost a yell.

"Yeah, but if we are ever in another situation, I am just saying..."

"Yeah...I know..."

"So...Umm...I need to get away for awhile...want to go camping?"

"Sure, my backyard or yours?"

END


End file.
